Xyloquirk Books
A wide-ranging collection of frolicking poems and reflections with a light touch and robust juxtaposition of words, sounds, and images, to soothe and to rattle, with balm and a coffee can of dry beans, the world as we know it.
Inside this book...
MIRACLES LIKE THS ONE DO OCCUR
"miracles like this one do occur, princess. but only if you stand still."
"i don't stand still. i float above the orbs."
"in the orbs, you mean?"
"above them. above above above. in the netherworld."
"in a substance that doesn't exist, you mean?"
"no. as a form of nonexistence by which i set my watch and more. a juniper observes my dance. it says, if i see you, it says – but never you mind!"
"cancer, norms on wood, i don't understand. the oak, the dry, the thicket, the mold, a place described."
"i know a thing about a ring. my name, my country undone in a twinkling. i forget you."
SOMETHING IN THIS DISH
onward / the irritation persists / a general malaise / i ask myself, is there a way? you stay. why? lazy laughter / under the spotlight / a pack of malcontents / crude embarrassments / a residue / what? / you smile / bluff / over cost, on edge / too many signs / lethargy / a fire bolt / a plethora? / ruptured spleens / the highpoint of the climb in capital letters or abbreviated / if then and when / pasted tops
CURIOUS HEMORRHAGES
the rebel says, "curious hemorrhages account for the gaps, so escape these walls when no moon shines, and sentries, laundry, and guesswork come undone. avoid suffocation in the laundry bag of your release. the drug will work."
"nah," laughs the old prisoner, "too old for that. the dead do not die. see the world in between"
IN THE MOOD
darkness descends.
justify your worth.
crowds bark.
hope dwindles.
a new day.
find the map.
chart your course.
lead yourself.
a flight of fancy.
pinnacle of today.
west of here,
a large quail,
a feather trail.
men on stilts.
a behemoth settles on the air.
transported unnaturally
through clogged pores,
days of debriefing,
jobs lost on nails.
hanging heads and threads.
tripled. you know what i mean?
safely guess
the stars
BURDENS
to be chary, to be wise,
to be flawed, to be kind.
i rush to the store only to find it boarded up.
standing on the threshold,
i consider.
too old, too young
too uncertain.
wherever i go, wherever the road goes,
i am wanted or a passenger.
kissed, called, alert maybe.
i wander about the emptiness.
in every direction, a sentence upside down
and at last i begin to see
BEHELD THE TARGET FOR AN OSPREY
Hot and stuffy / cold as ice / forgotten / remembered / upheld / pushed aside / dark in the lotus blossom / pitch black in the night / ray of light / dipper / cheese / pink flower / dog chases moon
SUNDAY AFTERNOON YUM YUM
as the picnickers come near, the blue bird empties its mouth and moves closer the nest, like a dinosaur awaiting the pendulum
An excerpt from THE LIBRARY OF OSCAR STRANGE: POEMS
Copyright 2020 by Pete O'Brien. All Rights Reserved.

Product Details
Ebook
$9.99
Jan. 12, 2020
132 Pages
ISBN 9781951390075
Paperback
$16.00
Jan. 12, 2020
132 Pages, 6x9
ISBN 9781951390068